Copying device.



A. M. BARRETT.

COPYING DEVICE.

APPLICATION mm) APR.23. 19m.

Patented July 23, 1918.

LQ78 18L n M I I 7 .t It THUR M. BARRETT, OF WINNETKA, ILLINOIS.

corrrnc nnvicn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 23, tall.

Application filed Apr-1123 191a. Serial No. 230,198.

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that l, ARTHUR M. BARRETT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Winnetka, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Copying Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad to the accompanying draw- 'IIIgS'.

This invention relates to improvements in copying devices of that type wherein is employed a flexible sheet removably secured against the under face of a holder adapted to be held in the users hand and pressed down andagainst a sheet of paper to transfer thereto a facsimile of an original writing or drawing. The flexible sheet carried by the holder and serving as the instrument for making the desired copy may be either a stencil sheet prepared in the well known manner and overlying an inked pad glued or otherwise attached to the face of the holder, or it may consist of a thin sheet with gelatin thereon prepared in the ordinary manner to adapt it to receive an impression from an original when such origlnal is written or drawn with the required material,

such as anilin ink, after which facsimiles thereof can be successively produced by the pressing of said gelatin sheet against sheets of paper.

In order to secure the best results the holder for these sheets is preferablymade with its lower face curved from end, to end so that in use it is given a rocking motion over the paper upon which the facsimlle is to be produced, and in order that the impression so made shall be parallel'with the.

edges of the paper, that the copy appears upon it is commonto, provide a base for such sheets of paper to rest upon, which base is provided with a transverse guide strip for one edge of such papers to abut against, such base and the curved holder having interengaging means that insures the holder bein properly positioned with respect to the %ase and the sheets of paper resting thereon preparatory to such holder being rocked to impress a facsimile upon a sheet of paper. s

The leading'object of my invention is to provide the said holder with improved means for insuring the flexible printing or impression sheet being drawn smoothly and evenly over the curved surface of the holder when such sheet is being put in place and holdin it in place thereon in that condition. It is a so an object of the invention to so construct such holding means that one member thereof will, cooperate with the transversely-arranged guiding strip on the base to secure the correct positioning of the holder preparatory to the makingof each copy, there y dispensing with an extra member on the holder for this purpose as has heretofore been deemed necessary. Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved base adapted to receive and securely hold in a removable manner one or more sheets of blotting paper or other material that will form a slightly-yielding pad .or bed for the copy sheets to rest upon.

These objects I attain by the constructions illustrated in thedrawings and hereinafter particularly described. That which I belteve to be new will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings;-

Figure l is a proved copying device, the holder being in proper position with relation to the base at the beginning of a printing operation, and showing in broken lines its position at the completlon of a printing or impressing operation; i

Fig. 2 is a detail, being a longitudinal vertical section through that end of the holder shown at the right in Fig. 1, and showing 1n broken lines ative position the turned down or inoperof the member at that end that clamps in place the flexible impression sheet that the holder carries, such member being the one that cooperates with the crossstrip on the base to effect the proper positioning of the holder;

' Fig. 3 is a detail, being a longitudinal ver.

tical section through that end of the base upon which is mounted the cross-strip; and

Fig. it is'a bottom view of the holder.

Referring to the several figures of the drawings,

5 indicates the holder that carries the flexible impression or printing sheet, which sheet, as stated, may be either in the form of a stencil or a gelatin sheet. The holder is preferabl formed from a single block of wood an its under face is curved from end to end. To such under curved face is shown ap lied a pad 6 of felt or other suitable absor ent material, the same being secured in place by glue or otherwise. en a pre paredstencil sheet is used, as sugested, such perspective view of my imsuch holder, the pivots for the member 8 bein indicated by 10 and those for the mem er 9 by the numeral 11. The transversely-extending portion of each of these two members lies quite close to the adjacent end of the holder. Such ends of the holder are rounded, as best shown in Fig. 2, and therefore when a prepared flexible printing or impression sheet is placed on the curved face of the holder and the bails 8 and 9 are turnedu into locking position it is evident that as t eir transverse parts approach such curved ends the impression sheet will be v nipped between such ends and transverse parts of the bails and the sheet pulled taut and evenly to present the required smooth surface. If such sheet be a gelatin covered one the action of the clamping bails may strip off a small amount of the gelatin where such bails come in contact with it, but the loss ofthe gelatin at those places is, of course, immaterial. hen the bails are swung to the position shown in Fig. 2 their further movement will be stopped by coming in contact with shoulders 1:2 formed at each end of the holder, as best shown in Fig. 2. \Vhen the parts are in this position the end portions of the printing or impression sheet will be wedged quite tightly in between the bails and the holder ends and in condition for a printing operation. From the upper edge of .the transverse part of each bail projects outwardly at substantially right angles a flange, such flange n the bail 8 being indicated by 13 and that on the other bail by 14. These flanges act to so stiffen the bails as to keep them at all times in proper shape for accurately and evenly engaging and holding the impression or printing sheet. It will be observed that the flange 14 on the bail 9 is wider than the flange-13 7 indicates a flexible printing or 'IIIIPIGSSIOII sheetof either kind.

on the other bail, and it is so made to adapt it for the additional function of properlypositioning the holder with respect to the base u on which the paper sheets that are printe upon are laid. In addition to being widened such flange 14 has its edge bent to form a downwardly and outwardly extending li 15. 15 indicates a handle located centra ly on top of the holder.

16 indicates the base referred to. It may be of wood or heavy cardboard or other suitable material, and should be made, preferably, of the same width as the holder 5 but of reatei' length. 17 indicates a strip, prefera ly of wood, secured to the upper face of the base and extending transversely thereof near one end. In the upper face of the strip and extending from end to end thereof is a groove 18. Into this groove the turned edge or lip 15 of the bail 9 is adapted to be inserted when the parts are in the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 1. Entering this lip in such groove compels the correct positioning of the holder at the beginninv of a printing 0 eration so that upon the roaring of the hol er over the base the matter transferred to the sheet of paper on that base will be in correct positlon with relation to the margins of such sheet. It is desirable that the base be provided with a pad,-such as indicated by 19, of blotting paper or similar material and that provision be also made for readily renewing such pad from time to time. I, therefore, cut away the lower portion of the face of such strip adjacent to its inner edge so as to form a space between the base 16 and the strip, into which space the pad can project. Such space is indicated by 20. The space is considerably narrower near the inner edge of the-stri 17 than it is farther back, and hence w en the pad 19 is inserted in it such pad will be tightly pressed upon by a comparatively narrow portion of the stri that will to a slight extent embed itself 1n the pad and so hold the pad more firmly than if the pad was pressed upon by a flat and comparatively broad surface. As shown, the fastening devices, indicated by 21, that secure the cross-strip to the base are located near the opposite edge of the strip from that in which the cut is made that forms said space 20, and by reason of such location of the fasteners the base and strip can be easily sprung apart sufficiently to permit the pad to be inserted in place between them. As shown, the forward edge of the strip is also rabbeted out. as at 22, to afford a straiglitedged recess for the reception of the edge of the sheet that is to be rinted upon, whereby a guide is provided t at in sures the said sheet being placed in proper position to be printed upon.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is

1. In a device of the class described, the

combination with astationary base adapted to form a support for a sheet to be printed upon and a transverse strip secured upon the base ad acent to one end thereof, said strip having a groove in its upper face, of a holder for a flexible printing or impression sheet, such holder comprising a block having a curved lower face against which such sheet rests, and a bail pivoted at opposite sides of the block near one end thereof and adapted to frictionally engage said sheet and clamp it between the transverse member of the bail and the adjacent end of the block, said transverse member of the bail having an outwardly and downwardly projecting flange for engaging the groove in the said base strip at the beginning of a printing operation.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a stationary base adapted to form a support for a sheet to be printed upon and atransverse strip secured upon the base adjacent to one end thereof, said strip being undercut on its lower face near one edge to permit the edge of a pad to be inserted thereunder and having a groove in its upper face, of a holder for a flexible printing or impressionsheet, such holder comprising a block having a curved lower face against which such sheet rests, and a, bail pivoted'at opposite sides of the block near one end thereof and adapted to frietionally engage said sheet and clamp it betweenthe transverse member of the bail and the adjacent end of the block, said transverse membervof the bail wardly and downwardly projecting flange for engaging the groove in the said base strip at the beginning of a printing operatlOIl.

3. In a device ofttltejjgclass described, the combination with a; stationary base adapted to form a support for-ia-slieet to be printed upon and a transverse-strip secured upon the base adJacent to one end thereof, said strip being undercut on its lower face near one edge to provide a space that is narrowest near such edge so as to provide a comparatively narrow portion of the strip to press upon a pad inserted in such space, said strip being also provided with a groove in its upper face, of a holderfOr a flexible printing or impression sheet, such holder. comprising a block having a curved lower face having an outagainst which such sheet rests, and a bail pivoted at opposite sides of the block near one end thereof and adapted to frictionally engage said sheet and clamp it between the transverse member of the bail and the adjacent end of the block, said transverse member of the bail having an outwardly and downwardly projecting flange for engaging the groove in the said base strip at the beginning of a printing operation.

4 In a device of the class described, the combination of a stationary base having a transverse strip secured thereon adjacent to one end of said. base, a rocking holder for a flexible printing or impression sheet, and a movable device carried by said holder near one of its ends for clamping said sheet against said holder, said clamping device and said transverse strip being provided with means for interlocking with each other at the beginning of a printing operation.

5. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a stationary base having a transverse strip secured thereon ad acent to one end of said base, a rocking holder for a flexible printing or impression sheet, and a bail pivoted tothe sides of said holder and adapted to have its transverse member clamp said sheet between it and the end of said holder, said bail and said base strip beingprovided with means for interlocking with each other at the beginning of a print- I ing operation.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rocking holder'for aflexible printing or impression sheet, a movable devlce carried by said holder near one of its. 

